Tying the Knot
by Tyndall Blue
Summary: Seiji and Ryo are already married to their wives, not eachother, and Shuu is finally tying the knot. Shin and Touma are left to catch up. Touma/Shin Part One of Two Teaser Update and A/N.
1. Chapter 1

Tying the Knot

In true Shuu fashion, his wedding was an extravagant one, done western style. Complete with the reception on a yacht with flowers and music overlooking the city lights reflecting in the water. Touma was bitter, sipping his drink, that this now meant that he and Shin were the only ones next. Naste and Ryo were an obvious couple, and everyone had been overjoyed when the invitations came out, because everyone like Naste. Seiji was next, his wife every bit as reserved and dignified as he was. The others were less thrilled with her; she seemed to lack Seiji's sense of humor. Even now she stood gracefully by his side, long hair pulled back elegantly, with a dainty but firm hand resting on her belly swollen with four months of pregnancy.

To him, the horizon was more interesting than the entire Faun family and company laughing and dancing behind him. However, he had to admit he couldn't help but like Shuu's girl. She was hearty and kind, with round rosy cheeks. Right now though, he was being bitter. One of Shuu's nephew's ran up and tugged his pant leg.

"Touma ni-san," the child whined.

"Not now, kid," he muttered, waving the child off. The child whined longer, pulling on his tux.

"Hey!" He shouted. "I said beat it!" Someone laughed behind him as the child ran off. Turning he saw Shin kneeling down to the boy, offering him a consoling pat on the head. Touma bit his lip. Shin had grown out his hair, letting it curl around his neck. He'd seen him earlier, but they hadn't spoken, instead standing silently next to Shuu during the ceremony.

"That was some speech," Shin said, grinning as he stood. Touma couldn't help but smile with pleasure.

"I saw you liked the part about how Shuu said he'd propose to you if you didn't have the wrong parts," he teased. Shin had gone red while Shuu sobbed with laughter at the recollection. Even his wife laughed.

"Well now Shuu's finally found a more acceptable partner," he smiled. "I like her, she's a sweetheart." Touma nodded in agreement, finishing the rest of his champagne in a hurry. His head felt fuzzy.

"Just us left, huh?" He mumbled, sitting on the bench. He tipped back his head, looking up at the stars.

"I guess so," Shin answered sitting down next to him, crossing his legs.

"Weren't you dating some chick when Seiji married what's her name?"

"Yeah, it didn't work out," Shin sighed.

"What, she wasn't into chicks?"

"Even that joke gets old after awhile, Touma."

"Only to you," Touma grinned more, closing his eyes. Shin sighed in defeat.

"So are you seeing anyone now, what was it, Dr. Hashiba?"

"There was one girl, in an Intro Physics class, but then I decided I liked my job and wanted to be head of the department one day." Shin was quiet. "You teach too, don't you? Marine Science?" Touma always knew that Shin would follow his deeply engrained path

"Yeah, a bit predictable, huh?" Shin mumbled, embarrassed.

"No more than me, or Ryo," Touma laughed.

"Yeah, Ryo the firefighter," Shin joined him in laughing, his face was flushed with wine.

"Master Seiji," Touma snickered.

"Shuu makes a great Pro Weight Lifter, though," Shin conceded. Touma nodded a bit. They sat in a silence that hadn't been comfortable since they were fifteen. "It's nice seeing you again, Touma." Touma didn't answer, and Shin didn't really expect him to. Instead, he suddenly had blue hair in his face, the weight of Touma's head resting on his shoulder. "I know you hate these sorts of things, but how much have you had to drink." Touma's groan was his only answer. Shin's delicate fingers reached to his hair. He smelled clean, fresh. Shin watched the water the way Touma had been earlier. If he ever got married, he wanted it to be on the water.

Touma continued to nuzzle Shin's shoulder until he reached up and ran his hand through the soft blue hair. He'd been surprised by how neat Touma looked and suspected Naste and Jun had a hand in it. At Ryo and Seiji's wedding he'd existed in a perpetual state of bedhead, and in one case, fell asleep during the dinner. He'd apologized to Seiji's wife profusely, but it appeared the bridge could not be mended. Shin knew Touma still resented her stealing his roommate of the last ten years.

"So's it drive you crazy?" Touma mumbled from somewhere on Shin's shoulder.

"Does what drive me crazy?" Shin sighed in return, leaning his cheek against the top of Touma's blue head. Touma laughed softly.

"That you are able to see shit most scientists would kill to see, but you can't tell anyone about it." Shin was silent, chewing one full lip.

"It does, but what about you?"

"Drives me batshit, Shin," Touma laughed again. Shin's hand pulled away from Touma's

hair.

"While this has been lovely, I'm going to go talk to the guys. You're welcome to sit here and sulk," said Shin smiling. Touma whined and Shin laughed as he tried to push Touma into a sitting position. Touma continued to be dead weight, smiling the whole time.

Some distant part of Shin missed when they were together against Arago, and the excitement of camping out in the basements of buildings and subways. Their battleground had been what little boys dreamed of. Initially he'd been reluctant to take what they needed but Touma had shown no hesitation. Shin sometimes wore the light blue jacket Touma had brought him from their foraging when the weather turned cold. Shin suddenly found himself beneath Touma, hips twisting awkwardly, chests pressed together.

"Give me a second, I'll come with you," Touma breathed, hair hanging into Shin's face.

"You're out of bed and dressed. What more do you need to do?" Shin teased, heart picking up speed when he felt Touma's breath on his neck. Then Touma kissed him.

It was an awkward and messy kiss, much like any semblance of a relationship they held. Touma wasn't sure when he decided he was attracted to Shin. Actually, he wasn't sure he was attracted to Shin, as much as he loved him. That didn't detract from the groan that slipped from his mouth as he kissed him, grabbing Shin's wrists and holding him down. Shin didn't struggle like Touma thought he would, so he released his wrists and slid an arm under his waist, pulling their hips together. Shin's hands were pulling him closer by his shoulders, tipping back his head to deepen the kiss. Touma's cold thin fingers trailed along Shin's jaw, tracing the hollows of his cheeks and gentle slope of his neck.

Behind them, the party carried on, the silence between a song change jarring them out of the moment. Touma was panting above him, outlined by stars. Shin couldn't resist sliding his hands up the back of his neck, playing with the short tendrils of hair, curling them.

"I don't think we should be doing this here," Shin whispered, eyes glinting.

"Probably not," Touma panted, voice heavy but lips smiling. It was still several minutes before they parted. Touma insisted on running his hands over as much of Shin's body as he could, feeling Shin's body flex and pull under the fabric.

Touma pulled away as the sound of heels approached. Shin was disappointed but pulled himself upright. More than anything, he wanted to pull Touma with him over the edge of the boat and sink them into the dark sea full of stars.

Naste rounded the corner, face flushed as red as her dress from drink and dancing.

"Touma, Seiji's looking for you," she giggled. Her laugh grew louder when Ryo's tan hand caught the curve of her waist from around the corner. Touma quirked a slender blue eyebrow; he and Seiji hadn't talked much since he'd married Maiko. Ryo pulled Naste away before she could explain more.

He stood to leave, wanting to flee the awkwardness of the situation before it set in. Shin's slight but strong hand grabs his wrist firmly.

"Hold on," he whispers, pressing something with sharp edges into his palm. Shin's lips press close to his ear. "Come find me."

Touma looked at the little square of paper in his palm as the auburn-haired boy disappeared around the corner. It was Shin's business card with his hotel address scribbled on the back in uncharacteristically messy scrawl. Touma bit his lip, knowing he would. Standing, he straightened his clothes, and went to find Seiji.

It turned out that finding Seiji was not difficult. He was standing alone in the middle of the dance floor, looking handsome like usual in his forest green shirt and silk tie. Shuu thought it would be cute to have them wear shirts in the color of their armors. Maiko, Seiji's wife, was standing by the side with the slightest and most unsettlingly Seiji-like smile on her face.

"Hey, Touma," Seiji smirked. Touma still didn't step within the circle, clinging warily to the edges.

"What the hell are you doing, Seiji?" Touma hissed. Shuu was in near hysterics and Mia was leaning heavily on Ryo, both laughing. Seiji only smirked more, covering the distance between him and Touma in seconds. A hand cupped Touma's waist like he had held Shin's a few minutes ago.

"I realized that we haven't really had a lot of alone time lately, have we?" Seiji's other hand grabbed Touma's and pulled him into the center. Several people cat-called at the two of them, much to Touma's mortification. One of Shin's nieces asked of her Uncle why two boy's were dancing together. Shin struggled to explain that it was ok, that they were just playing around.

"Shin looks a bit disheveled," Seiji whispered into the Touma's ear as Touma gave in and allowed Seiji to swing him expertly around the floor. To his relief, some couples joined them.

"I kissed him," he whispered. Seiji's hand tightened on Touma's waist, a familiar feeling from when Seiji had nightmares. He remembered the one awkward night, when he had wondered if their bond might be something more. He flushed.

"Again?" Seiji asked. Touma was getting dizzy, watching the faces over Seiji's shoulder become a blur.

"Yeah," he mumbled into Seiji's neck. "Again." Seiji's hand slid up to hold Touma's back. "I just hope it doesn't end like last time."


	2. Chapter 2

This is just a teaser.

A/N: I am not dead! I wanted to apologize to those that actually are awaiting updates on my work. Life has suddenly become rather crazy and if anyone possesses any of the following I could ensure that more story for "Tying the Knot", "Speak", and "Acceleration" would be updated with great swiftness:

1) More brain space

2) Money, so I can eat.

3) A job for the summer for a Field Biologists.

4) Magical potions that can recover missing/dead people.

5) Graduate research position for a biology major.

In an attempt at apology I will be posting teasers for all of my Ronin stories. I've actually been working on all of them, I just don't have time to get all of my tidbits to a reasonable posting length.

Tying the Knot

Chapter Two

Touma thought he would die of a heart attack before the night was over. Just trying to slip away from the mint green confines of his hotel had resulted in two 'cardiac episodes,' from wheedling his way out of a beer with Ryo and Shuu. He shed his jacket as he thought about their suspicious looks, and how they probably noticed that he was still a little too well dressed to be just going for a walk. They hadn't bought it during the battle either. Shuu would go off and look for Shin as soon as Touma slid the glass door shut behind him, and fortunately Shuu never found them. Lost in thought, Touma nearly died again as a cab honked at him violently for attempting to jaywalk. Spitting curses he jumped back, wondering why the hell Shuu felt it was necessary to put Shin and Seiji up in a different hotel. Shin's business card was becoming moist and crumpled in his hand, while his lips were getting drier with every block he walked.

He remember the first time he'd ever laid eyes on Shin, stuffing his hands a little deeper into his pockets and hunching his shoulders against the evening chill. Shin had been girlish; in fact Touma had thought Shin was a girl with the way he carried his weight on his hips and thighs. When he got bored, he would torment him by pointing out this fact, pinching the skin till it turned red, or, in their times of malnourishment, bruised. Eventually Seiji's cool warning looks saved Shin from Touma's cruelty. Touma shuddered at the memories from that year of teenage repression, and flushed a little with embarrassment. Just the thought of the near kiss that happened beneath the water of the lake was enough to make him nauseous. Ahead, he saw the illuminated sign of Shin's hotel.


End file.
